Lets get one thing straight. All of the reps or retailers in here who are complaining about 'corporate discount' stores are are trying to do ONE thing only. Protect their profit margin. They conveniently forget/ignore that MAP (minimum advertised price) and other similar agreements are an end run around laws that prevent price fixing and manufacturers/retailers colluding to act like a cartel.

Everyone loves the free market until they have to compete for business. The fact that boards, bindings, goggles, etc routinely go on 40%-60% clearance at the end of each season should be a clue that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. They will complain that 'snowboarding is seasonal'... well so are most other sports. There aren't a lot of people buying tennis rackets in February, and sports that require far less gear (soccer, basketball) seem to do alright without charging $200 for each basketball.

These guys hated sierrasnowboard because sierra operated on the same business model that supermarkets/home depot and wal-mart do. They make their money by moving enough volume to sell at a lower profit margin.

I worked for years in sales in a different industry where almost all of our competitors were cheaper than us (and many were much larger). How do you survive in such an environment? You work your tail off being a good salesperson and making sure that you provide good service and product to customers who are paying you a premium.

Instead, all of these crybabies are whining that they can't simply pay $1000 for some cookie-cutter online sales site and magically have sales come their way via the internet. Cry me a river. They don't love the industry, they love their profits. People who loved the industry would be trying to get more people into the sport by lowering the costs involved.

I am no fan of corporations, but the huge sites that don't tote the party are providing real competition and probably the only ones that might keep snowboarding from becoming (or staying, depending on your perspective) a boutique industry.

These guys hated sierrasnowboard because sierra operated on the same business model that supermarkets/home depot and wal-mart do. They make their money by moving enough volume to sell at a lower profit margin.

I think most people hated skierrasnowboard because they broke vendor agreements and sold below a contractual price. Thats not exactly the supermarket model. Don't forget they are currently under litigation. There is a reason they are not still around.